What is the ruling on interpreting dreams?
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The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O honorable Shaykh. What is the ruling on interpreting dreams?
The Shaykh : First, a person should not attach importance to dreams.
The questioner : Okay, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Nor should he concern himself with them; rather, he should turn away from them. For if he concerns himself with them and becomes distressed by the unpleasant ones, Satan will play with him and cause him to see things in his sleep that disturb him and confuse him. It is better for a person to forget dreams, not to care about them, and not to remember them when he wakes up. I say that dreams are of three types, meaning what a sleeper sees in his sleep is of three categories. One category is from Satan: this is when a person sees something that saddens him or something that cannot possibly happen. This is from Satan. As for the fact that what saddens him is from Satan, it is because Satan is eager to bring sadness, worry, and distress upon the children of Adam, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Mujadila 58:10] So Satan is eager for the believer to remain sad, distressed, and worried. This is from Satan. As a matter of principle, one must turn away from it and not investigate it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded: If he does this, it will not harm him no matter what it was. Likewise, if a person sees something that cannot possibly happen, it is from Satan. A man sought the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) opinion regarding a dream and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I saw as if my head was cut off and the head ran away, so I went running after it." He was running after his head. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) considered this to be Satan’s play. This is one category of what a sleeper sees.
The second category of what a sleeper sees is what he constantly talks to himself about. If a person is concerned with something and keeps talking to himself about it, he may be exposed to seeing it in his sleep. This is why it is said: "People’s dreams are from the talk of their hearts" meaning that if a person is concerned with something, due to the strength of the worry and thought in his heart about it, he may see it in his sleep. This is clear.
The third of what a sleeper sees is the vision (ru'ya). This vision is a part of the forty-six parts of prophecy. It is a vision that has a basis, is calm, and contains no terror. This is a vision. But if a person sees something he dislikes, let him seek refuge in Allah from the evil of Satan and from the evil of what he saw, and let him not tell anyone about it; it will not harm him. And if he sees something he loves, let him tell people about it, but let him not tell someone he fears will envy him for it. This is why, when[Yusuf 12:4-5] he began first by warning his son not to tell his brothers about it, fearing that they would plot against him. If a person sees something he loves and is glad about, let him praise Allah for it, but let him not tell anyone except a person who loves for him what he loves for himself, because people are wicked, and perhaps if he tells them about it, they will plot against him so that this vision does not come true.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh. The second question is in the letter of the questioner, N.A. al-Harbi, who says.
The Shaykh : First, a person should not attach importance to dreams.
The questioner : Okay, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Nor should he concern himself with them; rather, he should turn away from them. For if he concerns himself with them and becomes distressed by the unpleasant ones, Satan will play with him and cause him to see things in his sleep that disturb him and confuse him. It is better for a person to forget dreams, not to care about them, and not to remember them when he wakes up. I say that dreams are of three types, meaning what a sleeper sees in his sleep is of three categories. One category is from Satan: this is when a person sees something that saddens him or something that cannot possibly happen. This is from Satan. As for the fact that what saddens him is from Satan, it is because Satan is eager to bring sadness, worry, and distress upon the children of Adam, as Allah the Exalted said:
Private conversation is only from Satan that he may grieve those who have believed
إِنَّمَا النَّجْوَى مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ لِيَحْزُنَ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواWhoever sees in his sleep something he dislikes, let him spit to his left three times, and let him say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the evil of Satan and from the evil of what I saw," and let him turn over to the other side, and let him not tell anyone about it
من رأى في منامه ما يكره أن يتفل عن يساره ثلاث مرات، وأن يقول: أعوذ بالله من شر الشيطان ومن شر ما رأيت، وأن ينقلب على الجنب الأخر وأن لا يحدّث بذلك أحداًDo not tell people about Satan’s play with you in your sleep
لا تحدّث الناس بتلاعب الشيطان بك في منامكThe second category of what a sleeper sees is what he constantly talks to himself about. If a person is concerned with something and keeps talking to himself about it, he may be exposed to seeing it in his sleep. This is why it is said: "People’s dreams are from the talk of their hearts" meaning that if a person is concerned with something, due to the strength of the worry and thought in his heart about it, he may see it in his sleep. This is clear.
The third of what a sleeper sees is the vision (ru'ya). This vision is a part of the forty-six parts of prophecy. It is a vision that has a basis, is calm, and contains no terror. This is a vision. But if a person sees something he dislikes, let him seek refuge in Allah from the evil of Satan and from the evil of what he saw, and let him not tell anyone about it; it will not harm him. And if he sees something he loves, let him tell people about it, but let him not tell someone he fears will envy him for it. This is why, when
(4) [Of these stories mention] when Joseph said to his father, "O my father, indeed I have seen [in a dream] eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me." (5) He said, "O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy.
قَالَ يُوسُفُ لِأَبِيهِ يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ * قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ لا تَقْصُصْ رُؤْيَاكَ عَلَى إِخْوَتِكَ فَيَكِيدُوا لَكَ كَيْدًا إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لِلإِنسَانِ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌThe questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you, O honorable Shaykh. The second question is in the letter of the questioner, N.A. al-Harbi, who says.